After hosting the inaugural Development Stage event in 2024, Oakland, California-based green coffee trader Royal Coffee is planning to drop another batch of speakers and tastings for 2025.
Taking place at The Crown: Royal Coffee Lab & Tasting Room on Sept. 12-13, Development Stage 2025 will feature speakers Edwin Noreña of Finca Campo Hermoso, agrivoltaics systems specialist Juli Burden of the Hawaii Agricultural Research Center, head distiller Dave Smith of St. George Spirits, Chef Oumar Diouf of The Damel, journalist Paulo Bicchieri of Eater, and more.
The event’s theme is “the future,” and it will feature sessions on “utopian envisioning and ancestral knowledge,” according to the organizers. Naturally, there will be lots of coffee served, as well as lectures and tasting opportunities.
A scene from the inaugural Development Stage event at The Crown in Oakland. Image courtesy of Royal Coffee, Inc.
“2025 is a year of exploration, reflecting, and learning from the past to envision a new future for ourselves,” the organizers wrote. “Innovators and legends from the coffee world and beyond join The Crown team on the stage to discuss, collaborate and explore what specialty coffee’s future might look like. Our goal is to unite coffee makers and drinkers in unconventional coffee tastings and pairings, engaging conversations, and meaningful workshops to elevate our appreciation of coffee.”
Royal Coffee Director of Education Chris Kornman said that the 2025 theme was inspired in part by the “uncertainty dominating the early 2025 news cycles” leading to questions about the future of coffee.
“Drawing inspiration from the past, examining strategies for survival, exploring global connectivity, and remaining hopeful about the future — all while tasting delicious coffee — coalesced as a way for us to direct our energy and hold meaningful discourse about tomorrow,” Kornman said in a press release for the event.
Early bird pricing runs until June 30, with two-day passes for $150 and one-day passes for $80. Full prices will be $175 (two-day) and $95 (one-day). Tickets here.
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